Turning and turning in the widening gyre | The falcon cannot hear the falconer | Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold | Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world | The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere | The ceremony of innocence is drowned | The best lack all conviction, while the worst | Are full of passionate intensity. — W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming

Show Me the Human Shields! The Propaganda has Expired for Israeli State Terrorism

Watching the video as the one above, produced by international witnesses, showing unarmed Palestinian farmers and foreign civilians being repeatedly fired upon, without provocation, in an open field, makes me livid. This kind of terrorism cannot be justified. This is not response. This is not defense. This is pure, unmitigated terrorism. All of the old Israeli propaganda lines abundantly expired when their latest criminal assault began on Dec. 27, 2008, and you can now find them, at bargain basement prices, at the Hasbara Surplus Store otherwise known as Twitter.

There it is, documented, from this past Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. Now watch it get ignored by all the “right thinking” citizens, the “impartial” BBC, and the usual assortment of despicable mother fucking cunts.

Please tell me once again that condemning this outrage is “anti-semitism” (because the anti-semitic denial of genocide is acceptable only if aimed at Palestinians). Please continue, like cowards and criminals, to protest the clinical observation that Zionism is racism, that Zionists and Nazis have become indistinguishable. Continue making your case for your “right to exist,” when this is how you manifest your existence. Bigots, cowards, racists, and terrorists — you are welcome to post your comments here, so I can mount your material as an ethnographic freak show in tribute to state terrorism…except that on this issue, this video, I expect you to suddenly go silent.

Thanks to the invaluable work of courageous volunteers for the International Solidarity Movement for bringing this to the attention of those are willing to even just look at reality.

The soldiers continued to shoot on the group, despite the fact that many members of the group had their arms in the air and were wearing fluorescent vests to make them highly visible, and identify them as Human Rights Workers; had erected a banner indicating that the farmers and accompaniment were civilians; contact had been made with the Israeli army to advise them that Palestinian civilians and internationals would be working in the area; the various international embassies had been advised of the planned accompaniment; and the internationals were announcing their presence via a megaphone – demanding that the soldiers stop shooting on unarmed civilians.

“We are unarmed civilians! We are farmers and international Human Rights Workers! Stop Shooting!”

Many thanks for visiting. A day from now, I will have regrets about using the strong language I use today. This time I will resist the temptation to cleanse my writing. This kind of action is inexcusable, and no words could ever express the depth of my outrage with Israeli crimes, that are far worse than what we see in this video. Polite discourse comes to an end when a barrage of propaganda attempts to whitewash a barrage of murderous actions that deliberately target civilians.

Right on! Let’s not varnish matters, polishing up our language even on a blog where we should be free to call a spade a spade. I could not believe what I saw and heard in this video! I don’t have cable here up north, but I’ll check later to see if the BBC, CNN, or the CBC websites make any mention of this. So far, this is the first I have heard of this. How does Israel keep thinking it can get away with all this when the eyes of the world are watching?

Thanks also for your “tweets” since they inspired me to send the little I can afford to the ISM. These guys are made of steel, I wanna join them!

You should look into joining ISM, luckily you have the benefit of anonymity here, and age, not to boast of your mountainous physique. I would give an arm to go with them…but I don’t expect to be allowed unhindered passage through Israel. Anyway, talk it over with family and “you know who” before you make any decisions, please.

…and of course it is getting voted down on reddit. Like some of the flailing, hysterical monsters on Twitter, any confrontation with a reality that lays bare their propaganda, their outright lies, causes them to spin into a tornado of outrage…asserting new lies, insult spamming, trying to distract and deflect attention.

Unlike my own torrent of anger as exhibited above, Guanaguanare has posted a great commentary on this video and the ideas, emotions, and logics surrounding this growing monstrosity that we call “Israel.”

[…] The Genocide Apostles’ Creed Posted in COLONIALISM/IMPERIALISM, HEGEMONY by Maximilian Forte on February 8th, 2009 Continued from “An Unfolding Pattern of Genocide…” and “Show me the human shields!…“ […]

Let’s keep in mind what this video is about, and then where your questions fit.

The video is about the IDF knowingly and deliberately firing on unarmed civilians, in broad daylight, in an open field, without any alleged Hamas fighters using them as human shields. They are human rights workers and farmers. This is a document.

Now you ask me about Hamas and others firing mortars at civilians. I am glad to see you at least equating the IDF with a “terrorist” organization, except that the IDF has the benefit of guided munitions, and far superior firepower that destroys many more people.

But you also equate farmers and human rights workers with Loyd. Now that is outrageous, and no, it’s not funny.

i am not equating anything. only asking a simple question which you have yet to answer. what makes this outrageous video (which i have not seen–nothing to click on here–maybe its my computer) so much more apalling to you than the acts i mentioned??

You are equating the IDF and Hamas, as you balance them as comparable: outrage against one, must entail outrage against the other, for similar actions. It’s your sentence, don’t blame me for it now.

I also answered your question as to why it is more outrageous: this is not an accident. These are not unguided munitions at work here. This was deliberate targeting of civilians. Now, why do you need to quickly try to sidestep that by asking us to look the other way, at Hamas? When I sense dishonesty, I give people a hard time, and I don’t just answer questions as if I were being interrogated by some pretend policeman. Got it?

As for Paula Loyd, she was not an innocent civilian, bombed in her home. You can pretend she was, but not here. In fact, I think your equating Loyd with either innocent Palestinian farmers being shot at, for farming, or innocent Israeli civilians without a hand in the conflict, to be pretty disturbing…sick actually.

P.S: Don’t build a trap, and then walk straight into it. If you want equivalent outrage directed against Hamas (even if Hamas is featured nowhere in this video), then you posit equivalence. That means equating the Israeli state with a terrorist organization. You can then pull back and say, oh no, that’s not what I am doing, which then means they are not equivalent, and therefore there is no need for an equivalent level of outrage. Simple, isn’t it?

I actually do think there is much in common between the Hamas government and the Israeli state: violence against civilians, hostility towards dissent, and the deforming influence of religion. So why do I not engage in an equivalent level of criticism against Hamas? Because it does far less damage, because it is clearly the weaker of the two sides, because it is clearly under siege, because it did not start the war with Israel. I do not criticize those at the losing end of oppression, except privately (apart from now). If Israel feels that crimes against humanity are justified as a right to self defense, then it is not the only one with that right (though Israel would like to believe so).

you are reading way to deep into a simple point i want to try to make clear. i had a mental image of you while you were typing with the language and all—outrage. right? well i am surprised by the level of anger you had then, but i did not see in the reports on Loyd. she has nothing to do with except she was killed by an illogical religious zealot ala hamas operatives. as far as hamas being the weaker side–who cares how strong or weak one side or the other is? the important question is–who is right?? still cannot see the video-even at the link provided. can you actually see israelis firing guns or was this only reported?

Alright, it is possible that I am reading way too deeply as you say, and the medium itself is not one that is highly conducive to understanding in situations of contestation, or even other situations of a far more benign character.

Yes, I was deeply outraged when I saw that video. If you still cannot see it, try it on YouTube at:

If that doesn’t work, it means your computer is not enabled for Flash presentations (I think). I just tried it, in all of these places, and it is working.

I was not outraged by the attack on Loyd, that is a fact. I still think it was atrocious, but I am not outraged. I don’t think she should have been there. She had a choice. Palestinians in Gaza do not have the same privilege, and they are in part of what remains of their home. I don’t see any room for comparison. I also see illogical religious zealots on all sides, and given that Loyd was reputed to have saved a group of absolutely dumb Korean women missionaries (going to convert Muslims to Christianity, in a flipping war zone), I suspect she had her own religious leanings.

I agree, the question is who is right. How can the powerful murdering the relatively powerless ever be right? How can power and weakness not be part of the equation, especially when the very concept “abuse of power” is premised on such an equation? And how do you separate that from the kind of outrage you might feel, and how selective it might be? Do I need to cry just as much when the bully finally gets a bloody nose? And how do you define innocent Israeli civilians, when both men and women have to serve in the military? What exactly is a civilian target in Israel, if it is a settlement on land that belonged to Palestinians who were ethnically cleansed and replaced by the current inhabitants? Those are the kinds of questions behind selectivity. I was not born criticizing Israel, nor was I ever taught to do so by anyone.

ok. finally saw video. there is no evidence other than the recorded persons saying these shots came from israelis. to be so enraged over this is ludicrous in my opinion–you have no proof any of what was shown was true! that said, if israieli forces or anyone for that matter was shooting at these people it is without question wrong. no matter who it is or how powerful or powerless they are. the same goes for anyone firing mortars or missiles the other way–even in the face of a settlement dispute. i still disagree with your selectivity with regard to who is being killed, tormented or whatever. wrong is wrong. whether loyd should or should not have been there can we agree she was trying to help–albeit in her own misguided way?? i can have as much disdane for the US military ala abu gharib as i can for salam burning loyd. again wrong is wrong. i have no special axe to grind with palestinians or afghans. i also think one removes alot of people from the discussion when the view presented seems to be son one sided and that somehow a woman in afghanistan has some fault in her own burning death. are afghans better or worse off than when the taliban ruled?? my guess is most would say they are in a much better situation. as far as a civilian israeli target–come on now thats kind of a low blow.

This is what I saw. An Israeli military vehicle speeding along a road, towards a watch tower. You later see the tower and someone standing there, though not well focused. Shots are definitely fired, the donkey’s reaction is proof of that. Now your suggestion is that the International Solidarity Movement is going to stake its entire campaign, and its reputation on every issue, on a falsified piece of drama. That is quite an implication — but note that Israel has not denied that this happened. If anyone has an interest in disputing this video, it is the Israeli government. Again, no such denial has been issued.

Wrong is not wrong, because not all things are equal. You are saying that American Indians were wrong to fight against European invaders, wrong to kill when being killed. You are also saying that the Allies were wrong to fight the Nazis. You are also saying that the U.S. was wrong to react to Pearl Harbour, and wrong to retaliate for 9/11. If wrong is wrong, as you argue, then the U.S. is wrong to be in Afghanistan and Loyd was wrong to be there.

If you believe all of this, then you are a true pacifist, and I say with all sincerity: bless your soul. Humanity needs more people like you, indeed, we should all be like that. However, I am not a pacifist. I believe that violence is justified in certain extreme circumstances. Loyd was not justified in going to someone else’s home. Salam was justified in fighting against foreign invaders…assuming that anything at all about that story is true.

By your evidentiary standards, you can only come to one conclusion: Salam was an alleged attacker, the attack itself is alleged, there is no proof that he committed the attack, no statements from eye witnesses other than U.S. military ones, no corroboration, no words from Salam, nothing about Salam in fact, and no video.

i guess the dead woman is some proof of salams actions wouldnt you say? and yes i would dispute the video. just as in the US racism argument without a serious race problem in this country Jesse Jackson has no job and the same for Al sharpton. these people stoke the race fires for their own good. the ISM may be doing the same thing. i am a hunter. i love deer meat-call it a vice if you must. i once shot a slowly moving deer at 375 yds dead in its tracks. surely the powerful israeli military can hit standing still people. this video is one of two things. 1. fabricated propaganda. 2. stupid soldiers trying to incite fear. who knows but i think both are plausible. your view seems to be that you cannot see that number 1 is even in play. you will always side with the ISM it appears. and when i said wrong is wrong i was speaking of an unprovoked act. are you really saying that salam was protecting himself–are you really going to go on record with that justification??? unbelievable. that type of thinking is what gets people like me to not even want to listen to the ISM/palestinian side of the argument. i am at least at this point willing to listen to reason from that side.

I don’t know, you seem to be determined to step right into the traps that you laid for yourself, while basically ignoring the counter argument. This is what makes such discussions go round in circles, without any aim.

Your final conclusions here seem to be that:

* a wrong is wrong but only when the other sides kills one of ours;
* that everyone except us is lying;
* there is no such thing as evidence unless our side produces it;
* Salam had no business fighting for his country, but Paula Loyd, “innocent civilian,” had every right to be there and as a party to war, she was not supposed to die.
* and how dare anyone say that what Salam did was right, when all we are allowed to say is that Paula Loyd was some glowing fucking saint.

Perhaps, to make their video more credible for the doubters, the ISM person holding the camera should have run across the field towards the Israelis, ignoring the shots fired at her, and then asked to sidle up to the soldier and film him while shooting at her ISM comrades.

Unless it is Francis Ford Coppola, it can’t be true. Dumb, very, very dumb.

Max,
I won’t deny that the swearing got me to stop and wonder. I think, being familiar with your writing, it made the point of your outrage. Whether it was a good idea or bad? I guess it’s a matter of policy. When first starting to debate online about these issues, I’ve noticed that pro-Israel debaters turn to dirty talk and ad-hominem. I realized that it made them look silly, irrational and did nothing for their cause. Although I admit, I can’t stop myself sometimes. When in doubt, observe Noam Chomsky ;)

Kenneth,
1. I’m Israeli, from the South. Yes, we were hit by many rockets. But who’s fault is that, but my own government, that cages human beings like animals and dares to wonder at their resistance? (I don’t support violence, but I can’t blame them.)

3. Hamas is without a doubt a disastrous fascist regime, but if the world gave a fuck (and pardon the outrage), it would never have sprung up FROM THE PEOPLE, as it did, in the first place.

4. Who is right? Not a movement of Jews that formed in Germany, in the 1800’s, that decided that they deserve land, regardless who was living there prior. Not a movement that came to a populated Palestine and in the name of god (or whatever) massacred entire villages and planted trees in their place, calling it a nature reserve. Not a movement that has become a fascist country, that raises its children to become murdering robots. Not a country which has no respect for life other than Jewish life and dares to call me a traitor for calling them out on murder, racism and 60 years of occupation. And while I’m ranting: NOT IN MY NAME!

5. I’m wondering how this movie is propaganda?

6. This was a case of stupid soldiers getting some live target-practice. The reason they didn’t hit is either due to the fact that they were drinking/smoking weed , or very well aware of the fact that hitting an international is a big no-no. Cases of soldiers shooting at unarmed, Palestinian civilians are a dime a dozen, and maybe it’s the quantity of the act that matters here, less than the quality. It’s the occupation, stupid! (not personally directed at you, just being clever)